Themed night of storytelling and stand-up blends the tragic and
comic in an involving way

By Gabrielle Nash / Jester correspondent

The Liar Show, a high-concept blend of comedy and storytelling seen
at the 92Y Tribeca on January 19, blends funny moments with serious
ones as five performers try to convince the audience that all their
stories are true. (In this performance, two of the five had
fictional tales).

Picking the fake stories among those delivered by this group of
skilled performers – the Liar Show has run in different venues
around New York regularly for years, usually with different
storytellers every time – was actually a challenging task on this
night. Comedian Colin Dempsey’s true story of the perceived origin
of a pair of shoes he bought, and the luck they may or may not have
brought him, while living in Australia was artfully constructed in a
way that made it seem false. Monologist Leslie Goshko told her
story, about where a pet mouse ended up, in such believable fashion
that many were convinced it was true.

Jim O’Grady, an author and reporter, gleefully told a tale that was
more obviously a constructed fiction, in which he unwittingly donned
attire while interacting with black children living next door to him
that made it seem as if he were getting a thrill from acting like a
Southern plantation owner.

Writer/director Tracy Rowland and author Kambri Crews told personal
stories with serious focus and resonance, but still managed to play
up certain comic aspects. Rowland, recounting what a character her
father was – and not always in a positive way – talked about how his
actions over the years didn’t exactly inspire them to get
extravagant in his funeral arrangements, which included empty seats,
a cardboard box of ashes and music played on a boombox. Crews
recalled how she lived a real-life version of the movie “Sixteen
Candles,” where everyone in her family forgot about her 16th
birthday, only her house was far over on the “other side of the
tracks.”

It was inspiring how those with serious stories could find humor in
the face of adversity. At the same time, the silly stories in the
show had their own solemn overtones. A nice mix of the range of
human experience comes out through the structure of the Liar Show’s
storytelling and performances. The Liar Show will also keep you
talking about its tales long after it ends.